While the 1903 record would be 22
hours longer than anticipated, theirrun made just one year later (in 1904)
would be, as noted on the previouspages, only four and a half hours more
than this original plan.

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Day and Night Automobile RunChicago to New York

Horseless Age
September
30, 1903

A novel record run is
at present being attempted by the Electric Vehicle Company to bring
their
new 24 horse power gasoline touring car prominently before the
public.
It consists in making a continuous run from Chicago to New York city in
the shortest possible time, with proper regard to the safety of the
drivers,
the public and the machine. Four skilled chauffeurs will take
turns
in driving the machine. Two of these will drive the car through
from
Chicago to Cleveland, where their places will be taken by the other
two,
and they will proceed by train, some 300 miles, getting what sleep they
can, when they will again assume charge of the machine. While one
of the occupants acts as driver the other looks out for approaching
teams
and keeps track of the route.

According to the prepared schedule
of the route, 357 miles will have been covered approximately at
Cleveland.
Erie brings the distance up to 452 miles, while Buffalo is 540 miles
from
Chicago. From Buffalo the route is by way of Corning, 685 miles;
Binghamton, 768 miles; Kingston, 925 miles, and New York, 1013
miles.
It is possible, of course, that the road conditions may make some
detours
necessary and appreciably lengthen the distance between some of the
points.

The drivers’ previous
knowledge of the highways included in their respective controls is
comparatively
small, although each has profited by a previous daylight run from New
York
to Chicago with the same machine. The roads from Chicago to
Buffalo
are mostly level, but there are long stretches of sand and other places
that are liable to be bad in case of rain. From Buffalo to
Kingston
on the Hudson the road surfaces are fair, but there are many hills to
be
encountered.

The four drivers are
Bert
Holcomb, Hartford (who is in charge of the run); Lawrence Duffie,
demonstrator
of the gasoline vehicle department of the Electric Vehicle Company;
David
T. Adams, of Hartford, and Harry Sandol of New York City. [Note: As reported in the items below, R.W.
Haroun (correctly, Harroun), who participated at the beginning of the
run, was the fifth driver! As seen on previous webpages, Harroun
also took part in the 1904 re-take of this record.]

The car is the regular
24 horse power Columbia gasoline touring car. The engine
cylinders
are of liberal dimensions in respect of the rated horse power, and a
large
flywheel is provided, which avoids the necessity of frequent gear
changes
even in hilly country. The body of the car as regularly made
furnishes
seating room for six persons, and is of the well known “King of the
Belgians”
type, with removable tonneau. As the car is arranged for the
present
test the tonneau has been removed, and in its place is carried a chest
for supplies and tools. The front seat of the vehicle is divided,
the upholstering is of tufted leather. The body rests on
semi-elliptic
springs, and is supported by a main and a false frame, to which the
machinery
is secured. The footboard and dash are secured to the frame
independent
of the body. The engine is covered with an aluminum bonnet, with
ventilating slots on the sides, and has three large doors permitting
quick
access to the engine.

The run was started
upon
at 4 a.m. on Monday, September 28. Waterloo, Ind., 194 miles, was
reached at 1:10 p.m., with everything in good order.

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[NOTE:
Immediately
after this record was established, the Columbia Car and its drivers
went
on to an Endurance Contest from New York to Pittsburgh which was
organized
by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers. To see
the
Gold Medal they won plus photos of another adventure,
click
the link at the bottom of this page.]

Photos and items from other
Chicago Auto Showsappear on a later webpage in this
series

Motoring in the Republic of Mexico

The AutomobileApril
30, 1904

Mexico City, April 16 -- (...) American touring cars of the
best makes of from 12 to 24 hp are beginning to be seen here. One
of the finest cars is Julio Limantour's 24-hp Columbia. The car
is
a duplicate of the Columbia which last fall made the record run from
Chicago
to New York in seventy-six hours, and won a gold medal in the October
endurance
run to Pittsburgh. (...)

Automobiling in Mexico - Julio Limantour and friends in his
Columbia
car in Chapultepec Park

To see the Gold
Medal
which the Columbia Car won at the New York to Pittsburgh Endurance
Contest,
plus photos of another adventure, click HERE.